A Casual Comment
by ButterflyRae
Summary: “Actually,” he said, between bites of his food, “even though Nora and I complained about it, all the fighting when you moved in was kind of a relief. I mean, it was so much better than if you guys had started dating.” Dasey
1. A Casual Comment

**Disclaimer/ Author's Note:**

I don't own Life with Derek . . . If I did I would not be posting on story takes place during Derek and Casey's senior year of high school. It contains infrequent references to info that we learn in season 3, so if you haven't seen it yet or read the episode summaries, there might be a couple of spoilers. This is my first fan fiction ever so be nice. :-)

**Chapter #1--A Casual Comment  
**

In Casey's mind it had all started with George. Or more precisely, with a comment that he made at dinner one night.

Prior to that night Casey had gotten used to thinking of Derek as a stepbrother. An annoying and sometimes altogether lousy stepbrother, but a member of her family more or less.

Around that time, Derek was being been surprisingly decent to her. A few weeks earlier he had come across her crying on the steps of the school after being dumped by her latest boyfriend. Although no words of comfort were passed between them, he had dragged her with him to his job at Smellie Nellie's and had given her a free piece of pie.

While this had made Casey feel a bit better at the time, his behavior since then decidedly did not. He had stopped insulting her as much and even refrained from responding to most of her quips. She figured that this was because he thought that she was still a bit upset over her break-up. Yes, Derek Venturi apparently pitied her, and frankly, it was pissing her off.

Her mother, on the other hand, seemed to find this a refreshing change of pace. And when she said something to this effect, Casey couldn't help but reply snidely.

"Derek just _seems _like he's being nice," she had said. "Really, he's been such a jerk since the time that we moved in that even behavior unworthy of an eight-year old seems like it deserves a gold-star."

"Hey!" commented a then eight-year-old Marti, looking slightly offended.

Nora shook her head at her daughter in disappointment.

That's when George made the infamous comment.

"Actually," he said, between bites of his food, "even though Nora and I complained about it, all the fighting when you moved in was kind of a relief. I mean, it was so much better than if you guys had started dating."

"What!" Casey practically screamed, dropping her fork. Meanwhile Derek nearly gagged on the food he'd just stuffed in his mouth, Nora threw George a reproachful look, and Lizzie and Edwin were just staring at George with their mouths open. Only Marti went on with what she was doing as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said.

"I mean," said George, looking like he'd been backed into a corner by their stares, "it's not like we would have been upset or surprised if that had happened. You're not actually related," he laughed nervously. "We just didn't want it to be awkward for you, Casey, living with someone who had dumped you."

"Georgie!" said Nora, shaking her head and giving her husband an even more reproachful stare.

Meanwhile Derek was looking more and more amused. He threw Casey a definite smirk, which she returned with her own withering glare.

"What Georgie means, honey," said Nora, "is that you're such a nice girl and it could've only ended badly since Derek is well . . ."

"Derek?" Casey filled in.

"Well, yes," said her mother.

"Hey!" said Derek, "I think that I might resent that."

"Oh, come on," said Casey, turning to him. "You don't exactly have the best track record with girls. You dumped one of your girlfriends so that you wouldn't have to buy her a Valentine's Day gift and almost cheated on her with another girl."

"I wouldn't do anything like that to someone I actually cared about," Derek said, as if this was utterly obvious, making Casey snort in distain.

"That's probably true," Edwin jumped in. "I mean, Derek couldn't sleep for like two nights when he found out that Scott guy was cheating on you."

"Derek!" George yelled. "That's the kind of thing that you should mention as soon as you find out about it."

Derek turned to his brother and hit him while Casey rolled her eyes.

"Gee, Derek," she said testily, "I frankly don't know whether to be annoyed that you waited so long to say anything or flattered that you did something about it at all."

"Be flattered," he said, smirking at her.

After that they went back to their normal arguing and the rest of meal passed as most did in their house. Nora threw up her hands in the air, realizing that the ceasefire she'd so gladly noted had ended.

But things had just started to get weird . . .


	2. Close Encounters

Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek.

**Chapter 2--Close Encounters**

That night, as Casey was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, Derek came in behind her.

"So . . ." he said, with an amused look on his face, "did you ever think of me as more than a step-brother?"

Casey spit her toothpaste all over the mirror and gave him a disbelieving glare. How could he even ask her something like that?

"Oh come on, Case," he said, "I'll admit that I found you half way attractive when we first met . . . until you opened your mouth."

Casey just rolled her eyes at him and went back to brushing her teeth.

"So," he pressed, inclining his head toward her and looking cocky, "do you ever think of me that way?"

"No," she said curtly, after spitting the rest of her toothpaste into the sink.

"Oh, please," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, "you're such a bad liar."

Shirking off his arm, she rolled her eyes at him again, and walked out of the bathroom.

"You know you want me!" he called after her.

"In your dreams, Derek," she called back, not bothering to turn back toward him.

* * *

The next day, the comments started.

"Der-ek!" she had yelled, as her Mom and George were preparing breakfast for her younger siblings. "You threw you're sweaty hockey jersey in with the whites again!"

With an expression on of disgust on her face, she picked the smelly shirt out of the laundry basket and dropped on the counter next to where he was eating.

"Oh come on, Case," he smirked, "you know that you want your 'delicates' to smell like me."

Casey shot him a look of disgust.

"Casey just doesn't want to admit that she wants the D-man," he told Edwin, who raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Casey glared icily, Nora sighed as she scrapped the burnt pieces off a slice of toast, and George rolled his eyes realizing what he had started.

From there, things only got worse.

* * *

When Derek got home from work that afternoon she was on the couch, trying to find something to watch on TV. Instead of sitting in his usual chair, he surprised her by sitting down beside her.

She was aware of how strangely close he was, and at first, he just sat there staring at her while she flipped through the channels.

After nearly a minute he leaned in toward her, and after giving her his trademark smirked, whispered, "We both know what you'd really like to be doing on this couch."

"And what's that, Derek?" she replied snidely, not quite sure what he was trying to get at.

She noticed a hint of nervousness in her own voice and hoped that Derek hadn't picked up on it.

He was smirking at her, and raising his eye brows, he motioned toward himself.

"Okay, Ew!" she exclaimed, getting his drift.

"No need to be ashamed, Case," he laughed. "Who could blame you for wanting this," he said, motioning toward himself again.

"Egotistical, much?" she glared.

"In denial much?" he shot back, laughing.

Rolling her eyes at him, she told him that she was going upstairs.

This could have definite advantages, he thought, quickly switching the channel to ESPN.

* * *

The next morning she was putting on her make-up, when she felt his body pressed up against hers and saw his reflection in the mirror giving her an amused look.

"Making yourself pretty for me, huh?" he whispered, reaching past her to grab a hairbrush and leaving the room before she had time to recover.

It went on like this. He would position himself abnormally close to her, hit her with some sort of comment, and walk off smirking to himself, leaving Casey visibly fuming.

It was like he was trying to get her to admit that she'd thought about him.

One time he wrapped his arms around her waist as she was washing the dishes. Casey had let out an inadvertent gasp, and this had seemed to give him a bizarre pleasure.

In spite or herself, she was beginning to find these encounters strangely exhilarating. Sometimes it would take all of her effort to suppress a shiver at the jolts of electricity that would run down her spine.

But Casey was not about to admit that. She would not give Derek that satisfaction of giving into his teasing or responding in the way that he clearly wanted her to.

He was just behaving like an immature, asinine jerk.

At first these incidents were confined to their home, but then Derek made the mistake of making some of these remarks in public . . .


	3. Public Displays of    Something

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

**Chapter #3--Public Displays of . . . Something**

Derek saw no problem in taking his behavior public. If anything, it was even more fun. Sometimes Casey would blush or shiver or become visibly agitated. Other times she would call out his name and start to yell at him only to realize she was making a scene.

It was a rush for him. He had always enjoyed making her mad, and there was a certain thrill in seeing her so worked up about this issue in particular.

Not to mention that he enjoyed being physically close to her. There was no denying that she was pretty, and Derek had become comfortable enough with himself to admit that he found her physically attractive. Physically being the key word in his mind. He told himself that this was a far as his "feelings" went.

The whole thing was so great that he almost kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner.

No one really seemed to care either. Most people, he figured, probably realized he was just having a little fun teasing his stepsister. And if anyone thought there was anything more to it then this, no one really seemed to judge him. After all, he was Derek, and he hit on everything without a guy chromosome—why would his stepsister be an exception?

Of course, Casey seemed to see things differently. He was amused to note that every time he would say something to her, she would look around as if trying to discern who heard it. This was another plus in Derek's mind.

The only other person who seemed the least bit perturbed by Derek's behavior was Emily. Probably, he thought, because she was Casey's best friend.

Derek and Emily had dated for a short time, but it had ended with her dumping him. And she didn't really seem to be jealous as much as irritated.

One day he was leaning over Casey as she got stuff out of her locker and was saying something mildly scandalous to her when he caught Emily pursuing her lips and shaking her head in disapproval. He found this mildly annoying but not nearly annoying enough to induce him to stop.

Sam seemed pretty amused by the whole thing. Derek would catch him smiling at him whenever he would make these comments, and in his mind, he gave Sam props for being cool with the joke given his history with Casey.

Then one day he found out why Sam was really smiling.

They were in the hallway getting ready to go home. Derek nudged Sam and motioned for him to head toward Casey's locker. He had set up something totally sweet and couldn't wait to see Casey's reaction . . .

She entered her combination (her birthday; how much more obvious could she get?) and Derek smirked at her shocked expression when she opened the locker.

There, on the door, for all to see, was a large picture of him, around which he had drawn a big red heart.

"Der-ek!" She screamed.

His smirk grew more intense as he watched her face turn an exquisite shade of pink.

"I bet she imagines herself screaming that in bed," he remarked loudly.

Casey looked like she was going to explode.

Then came devastating comment number 2 . . .

"You know, D," Sam said knowingly, "it seems to me like you're the one who thinks about that."

"WHAT?!!" he said turning to his "best friend," as Casey raised her eyebrows in amusement.

"Well," said Sam, "you are the one who can't keep your hands off her these days. Plus, it's always seemed like you had a thing for her."

"Did you get hit in the head with a hockey puck or something?!" Derek shouted at him.

"Come on man," Sam said calmly, "you literally attacked me when I started dating her and you insisted that we play all those pranks on Max when they started going out."

Derek saw a look of amusement and triumph pass across Casey's features. It was like a frickin' cartoon light bulb had gone on over her head.

"He was the captain of the football team!" he shouted.

"Um, D," said Sam, "you're making a bit of a scene."

Derek looked around him and laughed nervously when he saw all the people who were staring at him.

"Go about your business people!" he shouted, at which the onlookers dispersed. He was still Derek after all.

"You know Derek," Casey said mysteriously, "two can play at this game."

And with that, she walked off down the hall, with Emily in tow, leaving Derek standing there speechless.


	4. Game On

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

**Chapter #4--Game On **

Derek was shaken. That was for sure. Was Sam a frickin' idiot?! Sure, he found Casey attractive, but the idea that he actually wanted her was just . . . just . . . stupid.

"Dude, maybe you_ need_ a hockey puck to the head," he told Sam, lightly shoving him as he walked down the hall "Come on," he called, "let's get out of here. Between work and hockey practice this my only afternoon off this week and Babe Raider 2 is waiting for us at home."

"You mean the video game or your stepsister?" Sam teased, shutting up after getting a seriously angry look from Derek.

* * *

Derek was both relieved and disappointed to find that Casey was not at home. He realized that she must have gone over to Emily's house after leaving school. That was fine with him. He and Sam would get their babe raiding on free of Casey's annoying commentary.

They had both made it up to level four when she finally walked in the door. Derek watched her shoot Sam a mischievous smile and realized that he had let his character fall into a pit of lava.

Then she turned to face him, walked over, and sat down on the arm of his chair.

"Killing time until I got home?" she said, leaning in uncomfortably close to him.

Honestly, he didn't actually find it that uncomfortable but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Nope," he said, quickly regaining his composure and leaning toward her so that he decreased the distance between them even further. "Just killing my character. It was euthanasia. She couldn't stand to be in same room as you."

With that he leaned in even further so that Casey reeled backwards to avoid his face, landing on the floor with a thud.

Derek laughed, got up from his chair, and walked toward the kitchen.

"Want a soda, Sam?" he asked.

"No thanks, D," Sam replied.

"Well . . . well . . . maybe she was just threatened by your obvious crush on me!" Casey called after him, belatedly responding to his last remark to her.

"Nice try, Case," Derek smirked, briefly sticking his head back in the living room to address her.

"Der-ek!" Casey screamed in anger and frustration,

"Don't worry, Case," Sam said quietly. "Derek may be better at the game, but I think you've got the upper hand."

Casey looked at him quizzically.

"Thing is," he said hesitantly, "I'm pretty sure that you're right about him."

"Oh," she said, not completely sure what to make of the whole situation anymore.

"Have fun," Sam smiled, "but remember, as much as he tries to deny it sometimes, Derek does actually have feelings. So just don't take it too far unless you're prepared to follow through."

"What do you mean?" she asked, although she thought she might already know the answer.

"Look," he said, "you can have a laugh and you definitely don't have to take Derek's behavior lying down, but try not to hurt him."

"Thanks, Sam," Casey said smiling at him and heading up the stairs. "You're a good friend."

* * *

The next morning Casey was putting on her make-up, when Derek strolled up behind her again.

"Dream about me?" he whispered in her ear.

But to his surprise she didn't push him away from her this time.

Instead she turned around to face him, practically learning against him and putting her lips dangerously close to his.

"Yes," she said, giving it a few second for her words to sink in before continuing her thought.

He was shocked and it was taking every bit of will power that he had not to kiss her.

"I dreamed that you finally found a backbone and came to terms with the fact that you have a massive crush on me," she said, slipping away from him and out the door.

"You've got some pretty messed up fantasies, Case," he called after her. "Clearly when you're sleeping you confuse just who has feelings for who."

"Whom, Derek," she said facing him again. "And even without the improper grammar, that comeback was pretty lame."

And with that, she smiled and walked off.

Oh, it was so on.


	5. Up in Arms

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

Author's Note: In case you haven't seen "Grade A Cheater" yet, Casey and Derek are not nearly as out of character in this chapter as you might think. Casey really is pretty bad at math and Derek does pretty well at it when he bothers to put in the least bit of effort.

**Chapter #5--Up in Arms**

Casey was in the hall, talking to Tinker. She was hoping that he might be able help her understand the latest math lecture. Math had always been Casey's weakest subject and since they had moved on from derivatives to integrals in Calculus, she found it particularly challenging.

Tinker was always glad when Casey asked for his help, although frankly, he wasn't sure why she didn't just ask her stepbrother. Derek had been getting better and better at math since he had started to apply himself more.

"So if the integral of 2x is x-squared plus C," she was asking, "how do I know wha—"

Casey words came to a halt when she felt a pair of arms slung around her waist.

"Der-ek!" she yelled, not even needing to turn around to see whose arms they were.

Tinker saw an amused smirk form on Derek Venturi's face.

"You can't find C," Derek said, anticipating her question, "unless you're given more info. Because the derivative of a constant is always zero."

"Um, actually that's right," said a flustered Tinker.

"My brains are one of the many reasons Casey wants me," Derek said, addressing Tinker, who seemed increasingly uncomfortable.

"In your dreams, Derek," said Casey. "After all, you're the one with your arms around me."

"It's charity," said Derek, not batting an eyelash, nor, as Tinker observed, bothering to remove his arms. "You know you can't get enough of it."

"Don't be ridiculous," retorted Casey, "you're the one who I always hear saying my name though the wall at night."

Tinker also noticed that Casey wasn't bothering to push his arms off her and that Derek's face had turned slightly pink.

"Yeah," he responded, as if her words had not affected him in the least, "on the phone, complaining about your annoying crush on me."

Casey seemed to be getting more and more angry.

"Um, maybe we should go over this later, Casey," Tinker said.

"Sure, Tinker, thanks for all _your _help," she said.

Tinker noticed that she hadn't commented on the fact that her stepbrother had started to move one of his thumbs across her stomach.

Tinker got out of there as fast as he could. If he'd ever had a chance with Casey McDonald, he knew that he didn't anymore.

"That," Derek whispered, leaning into Casey's ear, "was for Virginia Hamilton."

Casey smirked. She had purposely embarrassed him in front of some girl he had been chatting up in the hall yesterday.

"Well," she said to him, "turns out it doesn't bother me in the least."

"It . . . It doesn't?" he asked her, getting a happy goofy look on his face.

"No," she said, frostily, finally pushing his arms off her and turning around to face him. "Because unlike you, I don't want to jump into bed with every person of the opposite sex that I talk to."

With that she turned around, and walked away from him down the hall.

"Yeah," he yelled loudly with an air of cockiness in his voice, "you just want to jump into bed with me!"

Casey gave a nervous laugh to a group of people who seemed to be watching her and continued down the hall.

Derek would have to pay for that, she thought.


	6. Dumbstruck

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

**Chapter #6--Dumbstruck**

Things continued at pretty much the same pace for the next few weeks. Derek would get in Casey's face and Casey would get in Derek's. And every encounter just seemed to up the tension between them.

And when they weren't fighting or teasing each other, Casey was often thinking about it. The whole thing completely confused her.

Was Sam right? Did Derek actually have some sort of feelings for her (sans Derek's inane air quotes)? Was this all some sort of elaborate joke to him?

And to make matters worse, she was even less sure what the whole thing was to her.

What did the rush she got every time he was close to her mean? Was it just anger and excitement at facing another battle of wits against him or was it something more? If it was something more, did that something go beyond the purely physical?

However, all her questions about Derek came to a screeching halt one afternoon when she found herself with something else to think about.

She and Derek came home from school to find her mother, father, and a pretty blond woman sitting in the living room drinking tea.

"Oh, Casey, you're home!" Nora exclaimed, obviously both flustered and extremely relieved. "You're dad popped in for a surprise visit." "Isn't that great?" she said with what Casey only assumed was supposed to be a smile.

"Dad!" Casey exclaimed, smiling widely and throwing herself into her father's arms.

"Hey, Dennis" Derek called.

"Good to see you Derek," Casey's father said warmly.

"You behave your self around him," Nora whispered to Derek, fully aware of what had been going on between him and Casey for the last month.

"Chillax, Nora," he whispered, giving his stepmother a smile and patting her on the back.

"Dad, what are you doing here!" said Casey. "I thought you weren't coming to visit us for another two weeks."

"Well, actually I'm not Case," he said. "But I have a business dinner in the area tonight and I just couldn't wait to introduce you to Linda."

"Linda?" she questioned, looking at the pretty blond woman, who up until now she hadn't actually given much thought.

The woman was short, well dressed, and looked to be about ten years older than her and Derek. Derek, it seemed, had already noticed her and apparently was continuing to do so. She shot him an icy glare before continuing to give the woman the once over. He smiled at her, seeming genuinely pleased with her reaction.

"Yes, Case," said her father. "This is Linda. She's a new lawyer at our firm and also my new girlfriend."

Casey was dumbstruck.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Casey," said Linda, extending her hand. "I've heard so much about you."

Casey shook the hand in front of her and mumbled something that she hoped was polite. She was still in shock from the revelation.

She was vaguely aware of Derek's voice, saying something stupid. Something along the lines of "Nice Dennis" and some other comment about the blond.

"Case?" her father asked, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, um . . . Sure Dad," she said, doing her damnedest to smile.

"I know that this is kind of a surprise, honey," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I just wanted to give you a little heads up before Linda and I take you and Lizzie out in a couple weeks. I really hope that you guys will get along and that you'll sort of help with the introduction to Liz."

"Of course, Dad," she said. "I'm sure if you like Linda enough to introduce her to us she must be a pretty nice person."

"Thank you, Casey," said Linda warmly. The woman looked genuinely grateful, as if she had been expecting much worse. "I really do hope that we'll get to be friends."

Again, Casey did her best to smile.

"Dennis," said Linda, hesitating slightly, "we probably should get going soon or we'll be late for our dinner with the client."

Casey saw her father nod.

"Will talk more about this later, kiddo," he said, kissing Casey on the forehead. "I wish I could stay tonight and I'm really looking forward to our next visit."

"Me too, Dad," said Casey.

She was vaguely aware that her mother and Derek said goodbye to her father and the blond woman and saw them out the door.


	7. Casey's New Mantra

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

**Chapter #7--Casey's New Mantra**

"Casey?" her mother asked when her father had left. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Casey mumbled, still in a daze, "I think I'm just going to head upstairs now."

"Alright," said Nora with a concerned look on her face, and she headed into the kitchen as Casey headed to her room. If Casey wanted some space, she would give it to her. Nora knew that this had to be a shock.

Derek could also tell that Casey was not, in fact, okay. Since the point when Dennis had mentioned a girlfriend, it had seemed like she was fighting back tears. How could her father have missed it? How could he have left her like this again? Derek fought back the urge to run after him and deck the man in the jaw this time.

He had hoped his comment about the woman would snap Casey out of her trance-like state. After all, she was far less likely to cry if she was angry at him, but it had gotten no reaction at all.

He knew that he had to do something. Since he couldn't do much on her father's end, he decided to go up and check on her.

* * *

Casey was listening to music when she heard a knock on her door.

"Go away!" she shouted.

"Now that's not a very nice, Case" Derek said, walking into her room uninvited.

"It's not a good time, Derek," she said half-heartedly, not really sure whether she wanted to him to stay or to leave her alone.

"I know," he said, with unusual kindness in his voice. "That's why I came to see you."

He sat down on the bed beside her, and she looked at him, barely able to contain her tears.

"She can't be more than 29, Derek," she said bitterly. "My father is dating a 29-year-old."

He nodded at her and she noticed a certain tenderness in his eyes that she didn't think she had ever seen there before.

"I mean, I knew that he was dating people, but he hasn't actually introduced me to any before."

"I know what you must be feeling right now," he said.

"No!" she said suddenly, letting all her anger toward her father spill out on the person in front of her. "No you don't, Derek! How could you even imagine?! My father, the man I admire most in this world, just brought a strange woman home to meet me. How could you possibly know what that's like?!"

"Case," he said smiling gently at her, not reacting to all the anger she was dumping on him, "I do." He motioned toward the picture on her desk—the picture she kept of herself, her mother, and Lizzie. It was from the time when they were "happy"—from shortly before they had moved into the Venturi household.

And then it hit her. He probably did know what she was feeling. Her mother had been that woman for him—that woman who had come into his home and shattered his world.

And suddenly she couldn't hold back anymore. She threw her arms around his neck and started to cry into his shoulder. He held her, gently and tenderly stroking her hair and just letting her cry.

"Case," he whispered, "he wanted you to meet her. I think he wanted to make sure you were okay with it. He loves you Case, and I don't think that he would jump into anything if you and Lizzie were not okay."

"Maybe," she said, continuing to tremble in his arms.

Derek hoped that he was right. He didn't know Dennis McDonald very well, but he did think that the man loved his daughters—even if he could be somewhat oblivious.

"Casey," he said, pulling back just slightly so that he could look her in the eyes. "Sometimes life changes. You know that better than anyone," he said ruefully, looking at the picture of her little family again. "And sometimes it can seem like those changes are for the worst . . ."

Casey could tell that the next few words were difficult for him. She could tell that he was thinking how to phrase things and watching her reactions closely. But he continued. Tentatively, he pressed on.

"But sometimes," he said, "sometimes it turns out that . . . that those changes can actually lead to something . . . something completely amazing. And you realizes that you wouldn't have things any other way."

"Derek," she said softly, both touched and comforted by what he said.

He looked down at her. He wanted to kiss her; he wanted it more than he'd ever wanted it before and more than he'd ever wanted to kiss anyone. For the first time, he had to admit to himself that he had feelings for her. Real, non-air-quoted feelings.

But he didn't kiss her. As hard as it was for him to resist, he knew that he couldn't. Not when she was vulnerable like this. Who knew if it was what she wanted?

So he hugged her again and held her in his arms, letting her cry until her tears ran out.

And then he did something that he really didn't want to. He couldn't stand to see her unhappy like this, so he said the only thing that he knew would snap her out of it.

"I bet you're enjoying my holding you like this, huh?" he said, using that same guarded, defensive, teasing tone that he had been using with her all month.

"Der-ek!" she shouted pushing him off her.

But as he left her room that day, he saw her smile at him. It wasn't a smirk, or a glare, or even the type of "smile" that she'd given her father. It was a soft, genuine smile.

Maybe, he thought, there was hope for them after all.

"Derek!" he heard her call down the hall. "What the hell did you say to my father about that woman?!"

He smiled to himself. Quite a delayed reaction there.

"Um . . . It's not important, Case," he called back, barely able to contain his laughter.

* * *

Casey smiled to herself. She thought she knew what she felt about him now.

Unfortunately though, she still didn't know what he felt. And Casey McDonald did not like to show people she liked them . . . At least not until she was certain that they felt the same way.

At least for now, she would continue to tell herself that he was just her stepbrother. Just my stepbrother. Just my stepbrother. She repeated the words to herself over and over.

Until she knew how he felt, it seemed much safer to think of things this way. She had a feeling that she would be repeating these words a lot in the near future.


	8. This is Life with

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

Author's Note: Although I'm not anti-Lizwin, it's not going to happen in this story. Lizzie and Edwin have a pretty strong sibling bond at this point, and if that were to change, I think it would take more than a few lines to explain it.

**Chapter #8--This is Life with . . . Emily, Sam, George & Nora, Paul, Lizzie, Edwin, Marti, and some other guy.**

Emily Davis was royally pissed. Although she was pretty much over Derek, she frankly couldn't stand what had been going on between him and Casey for the last few months.

She was fed up with the glances, the touching, the whispers in each other's ears, the blushes, and the occasional tender moments between then. She wished that they would just jump each other already.

This was not jealousy—well, mostly it wasn't. She had known for a long time that she was not the girl for Derek and had come to accept that.

Earlier in their senior year, they had dated for about a month. She and Derek were friends. She knew that he genuinely liked and respected her. The entire time that the two of them had dated, she knew that he had tried his damnedest to love her as more than a friend. At the time, she didn't really understand why he was seeing her at all, but she was grateful for another chance to try to win his heart. She had realized that he would never love her, but at least that question had finally been answered and she had no regrets.

She had broken up with him as soon as she understood that he couldn't return her feelings. In a way, his struggle to do so had seemed almost pathetic. It had a very desperate quality to it, which she couldn't quite figure out . . . As his friend above all else, she couldn't just let him continue with it.

Looking back, maybe this thing with Casey had been the reason. Maybe even then, he'd been trying to deny his feelings for her. He sure as hell was now.

Emily hoped with all her heart that her two friends would be happy, and it pissed her off to sit back and watch the constant song and dance between them.

If you found someone that you could love and who actually seemed to love you back, why wouldn't you just be with them?

* * *

Sam, on the other hand, was happy. As much as she tried to hide it, it was pretty obvious by now that Casey had feelings for Derek. He was glad to realize that she wasn't going to hurt his best friend.

In retrospect, he realized, he probably should have known that she liked him. After all, the whole time that they were dating, Casey seemed downright obsessed with Derek . . .

Looking back, Sam found that he had to laugh.

Unlike Emily, he was confident that things would eventually work out no matter how long it took.

* * *

George had brought home a bunch of cardboard boxes, and one night when Nora came down to their bedroom, she saw him starting to pack them with their things.

"I think that Derek will be moving to the basement soon," he had said.

He didn't need to say anything more.

They were both quite aware of what was going on between their two oldest children, and while they were slightly concerned about it, they had a tacit agreement with each other not to interfere or to explicitly discuss it.

Nora understood and agreed that if anything happened, it would be unacceptable for Derek to remain in the bedroom next to Casey.

Granted, they were both going to the University of Toronto next year and would be free to do whatever they wanted there, but under their roof, George and Nora were determined that things would remain PG-13.

After all, Casey and Derek were only 18.

* * *

Paul was a bit concerned.

Although Casey had not spoken to him about the matter, he, like pretty much everyone else in the school, was aware of what was going on.

Frankly, he had suspected it was coming since the very first time she walked into his office and had started to rant about her stepbrother. He had even planned out the agenda for a family meeting that they could all have to help them adjust.

He suspected that Casey hadn't been coming to see him because she wasn't exactly eager to address all of the questions she knew he would ask her.

So one day he approached her in the hallway. He told her that if she ever needed to, she and Derek could bring in their parents and their younger siblings to discuss "any issues that might come up" under his guidance.

Casey had seemed genuinely grateful for the suggestion, which made Paul feel a bit better about the whole situation.

* * *

Lizzie hoped her sister knew what she was doing and that things would work out for the best. Derek was like an older brother to her, so this thing between him and Casey seemed a little bit weird for her.

She hoped that whatever was going on wouldn't change her own relationships with her sibs. Was it still okay for her to think of Derek, Edwin, and Marti as her family? And if Derek liked Casey as more than a sister, could she be certain that Edwin didn't think of her in a romantic way? She sure hoped that he didn't and was sort of avoiding talking to him about it. She really liked having Edwin as a brother and didn't want their relationship to change.

Lizzie knew that no matter how things turned out, she and her family would eventually adjust. Nonetheless, she couldn't help feeling mildly disturbed and probably could have used that family discussion that Paul suggested.

* * *

Personally, Edwin was glad that this whole thing had started. Derek was paying so much attention to Casey that he no longer spent as much time bossing him around.

Unlike Lizzie, Edwin didn't find the situation upsetting. Frankly, he wasn't really that surprised by it. The whole thing had seemed almost inevitable to him; it had just needed something to set it motion.

While he had come to see Casey as a sister, he knew that Derek never quite had. Although in many ways he still looked up to his brother, he was coming to realize that they were very different people and wanted to step out of Derek's shadow. He wasn't about to let Derek's relationships with people define his interactions with them. Whatever Derek felt about his stepsisters had absolutely no bearing on what he, Edwin, thought or felt about them.

He just hoped that both of his younger sisters were also okay with what was happening. Although he and Lizzie talked about almost everything, she seemed a little bit uncomfortable discussing it and he thought that it might be upsetting her. As for Marti, who knew what was going on inside her head . . .

* * *

Marti, who had not changed much since she was six, hoped that Derek would marry Casey and have lot of kids. Or rabbits. It would also be cool if Casey had baby rabbits. But this was another discussion in McDonald-Venturi household that was probably long overdue . . .

* * *

Roger White was one the few people at Sir John Sparrow who strongly disapproved of whatever was going on between Derek Venturi and his stepsister. He didn't like the whole "what Derek wants Derek gets" mentality that the rest of the school seemed to be organized around and hoped that this wouldn't include Casey McDonald . . . . 


	9. What Do You Want?

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

**Chapter #9--What do You Want?**

Neither Casey McDonald nor Derek Venturi had dated anyone for quite some time. However, this clearly wasn't due to lack of opportunity, especially for Derek who was still frequently approached by gaggles of giggling girls. Around the same time, both of them had simply seemed to lose interest in the whole dating thing. By this point, most of the school had figured out why.

Roger White had never liked Derek Venturi. He had failed to make the hockey team for the last two years, and while Derek as captain had apologized to him, he wasn't sure how sincere that apology was.

He didn't really understand or accept the way that Derek ran the team. For example, it was widely known that Derek had unofficially appointed his best friend Sam as "substitute captain." In other words, during all the times that Derek couldn't get his act together and wasn't allowed to play in the game, Sam was to take on leadership responsibilities with other players. In his opinion, Sam was a pretty decent guy and an okay hockey player, but based on the stats, there were clearly other players on the team who seemed more worthy of this role.

Roger occasionally wondered if his not making the hockey team was due to the fact that he wasn't exactly popular. He wasn't unpopular either, but he wasn't a member of Derek's crowd. In general, he was suspicious of Derek's behavior.

In addition, Roger had actually liked Casey McDonald for quite some time. Perhaps it was because she had been practically the only girl who didn't faun over Derek, and indeed, one of the only people in their school to actually stand up to him. Not only that but she was pretty and smart.

When things had started to change between Derek and Casey and it became clear that Casey might actually have some sort of feelings for the guy after all, for some reason Roger actually found her even more desirable. Perhaps it was because even though Derek seemed to like her, Casey was not giving into his charms. Whatever her actual feelings, she had not admitted that she liked him.

In addition, a small petty part of Roger had begun to think of Casey as something he might be able to take away from Derek . . . the way that Derek had taken away hockey. His friends warned him that it was useless to ask her out, but Roger personally thought that he might have a chance.

* * *

Roger corned Casey in the hallway after their English class together. He had tickets to a play later that evening and asked her if she might like to go.

Casey was taken by surprise and didn't really know how to answer him. Roger was tall, blond, and attractive. Although he wasn't as popular as Derek, he seemed to be quite nice, and as far as Casey could tell, pretty smart. There was really no good reason why she shouldn't want to go out with him . . . But she didn't want to and she was pretty sure she knew why.

Although she wasn't prepared to admit things first herself, she realized that the time had come to ask Derek Venturi the question that was constantly on her mind these days . . .

She told a disappointed Roger that she'd get back to him later and went off in search of her stepbrother.

But hey, it hadn't been a definite no. Roger was happy about that.

* * *

Casey finally caught up to Derek after science. He was casually leaning against his locker while that blond bimbo Amy practically threw herself at him. Although Derek wasn't exactly responding to this, Casey felt the anger rise in her throat.

"Derek!" she yelled. "We need to talk."

"So talk," he said, throwing her one of his trademark smirks.

"Derek," she asked him seriously, "what do you want?"

"He wants you to leave McDorfus," Amy interjected snidely.

"Derek," Casey said not even sparing Amy a glance, "send her away."

"Beat it, Amy," Derek said smiling and watched the girl walk off in a huff.

"Derek," Casey asked again, "what do you want?"

"Vague much, Case?" he asked her playfully, although in the back of his mind he did have some ideas what she was asking.

"Roger White asked me out," she said.

"Roger Can't-Score-a-Single-Goal White?" he asked with a nervous laugh. The guy was notorious for his horrible hockey tryouts, in which he incurred way more penalties than either goals or completed passes.

"What do you want, Derek?" she asked for a third time, ignoring the question that he had asked her.

Was she actually asking him that? He had just sent a beautiful blond girl away at her request. How the hell could she possibly not know what he wanted?

Derek felt himself getting angry.

"What do I want?!" he asked.

There was no possible way that she didn't know. She just didn't want to say anything first herself. Derek refused to give her the satisfaction of letting her bully him into this.

"I want," he said angrily, "for you to do whatever _you_ want. And if that means going out with Roger White than I hope that you two have a great time!"

"Fine!" she shouted back, looking like she was going to punch him in the face. "I will go out with him! And we'll have a fantastic time!"

"Great!" he yelled, and with that he stormed off down the hallway, pushing over a trashcan once he had turned the corner and Casey could no longer see him.

"D," said Sam catching up to him, "I don't think that was the smartest move. If you don't say something and fast, it's just possible that you might lose her."

Although Derek shot Sam an angry look, in the back of his mind, he knew that his friend was right.


	10. Open Doors

Disclaimer: Still don't own Life with Derek.

**Chapter #10--Open Doors**

The rest of the day was sheer torture for Derek. What the hell was he going to do? Although he knew that he had to take action, no coherent plan came to mind. He kicked himself for not simply saying something to Casey when she asked him earlier.

As they got out of school that day, he saw them. There was Casey walking alongside Roger White. Derek felt his blood boil but did his best to control his temper.

Coming up behind them, Derek casually slung his arms over both Casey and Roger's shoulders.

"So . . . fellows," he said, trying to sound as casual as possible, "what are our plans for this evening?"

"Well, Derek," said Roger snidely, "Casey and I are going to see a play and I assume that your going home to sit alone in your room."

"Come on now, Rog," said Derek, all playfulness having left his voice leaving only raw hostility, "is that anyway to talk to Casey's favorite step-brother?"

"Derek!" said Casey stopping in her tracks and turning to face him. Derek noted that her face was flushed and she was practically seething with anger.

"What do you want?!" she asked him, hostilely.

"Whatever do you mean, sister dear?" he said bitterly. Some part of him was aware that he wasn't making the whole situation any better. Then again, he wasn't about to have this conversation in front of Roger.

"Derek!" yelled Casey, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him with her, "Classroom. Now."

"Roger," she called as an after thought, "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Dragging Derek into the classroom, Casey turned to face him once again.

She was teaming with rage and her hair was a fly, but at the same time, it looked like she was ready to burst into tears at any moment.

"Derek," she asked again angrily, this time with almost a pleading desperation in her voice, "what the hell do you want?"

"What do I want?!" he said angrily, backing her against the nearest wall.

Although Derek was still seething with rage himself, after seeing the expression on her face, he felt like his heart was about to break. Was he really causing her this much pain? Could she actually be that blind about his feelings for her?

Trying to steady the trembling in his voice, he gently placing his hand on her check and asked her, "Is it actually possible that after all this time you really don't know?"

"Derek," she said, looking up with him tenderly as if all the wind had suddenly been knocked out of her.

They looked deeply into each other's eyes, their expressions saying all the things that they had both been too afraid to verbalize in the past few months.

And suddenly neither one could take it any more. Their lips crashed and they became locked in one of most passionate kisses that either of them had ever experienced.

"I want you," he whispered, coming up for air before beginning to kiss down the length of her neck. "You're the only one that I want."

Casey almost couldn't believe this was happening. Derek Venturi, her annoying, egotistical, womanizing stepbrother was kissing her and she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Roger White looked at his watch again. It had been nearly 20 minutes. He wondered what could be taking them so long. Finally he decided to go find out and entered the classroom that Casey and her stepbrother had gone into earlier.

"Casey—" he said quietly, his words trailing off as he realized what was going on.

There was his "date" with her shirt completely unbuttoned, kissing her stepbrother's neck as he ran his fingers up and down her body. Both were breathing heavily, and seemed totally oblivious to his presence.

As Casey let out a shiver of pleasure, Roger swore loudly to himself and they finally looked up at took note of him.

"You people are screwed up," he said, exciting the classroom as quickly as he could.

Casey, who by then had turned beat-red and pushed Derek off her, bit her lip and debated whether or not she should go after Roger. She wished that they had locked that door . . . She gasped as she felt Derek bite another part of her body, and all thoughts of Roger were instantly driven from her mind.

It took all of her willpower to push him off her again and suggest that they take their "conversation" home. After all, who knew who else might walk in on them.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later as they entered their living room, they were somewhat disappointed to see George, who for some reason had come home early from work that day.

"Um, George," said an unusually bubbly and nervous Casey, "Paul and I were wondering if we might be able to come in for a family meeting with him . . . You know with you, Mom, me, Derek, and all the younger kids."

"Well," said George, "I guess that wouldn't be a problem." He had always been slightly puzzled by his oldest stepdaughter's reliance on her school guidance counselor.

Derek was giving her an amused smirk, although secretly, he didn't actually think that the whole family meeting thing was the worst idea ever. He hoped that his sibs would all be okay with this and didn't want them to think that he was just screwing around with Casey's feelings . . .

"Great!" said Casey cheerfully, grabbing Derek's hand and beginning to lead him upstairs.

"Oh and Dad," Derek said, turning back to him briefly and smirking before letting Casey drag him upstairs. "I think that you'll probably want me to move down to the basement at some point."

A look of comprehension crossed George's features as he suddenly realized what was going on.

"Derek!" he called, running after his son and trying to catch up with him and Casey before they reached whatever room they were headed towards. "Bedroom doors open!"


End file.
